"Saint Nicholas of Myra[a] (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343),[3][4][b] also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya Province, Turkey) during the time of the Roman Empire.[7][8] Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker.[c] Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, toymakers, unmarried people, and students in various cities and countries around Europe. His reputation evolved among the pious, as was common for early Christian saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the folklore of Santa Claus ("Saint Nick") through Sinterklaas." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
In Germany (or Germanic areas) they have a different tradition rooted in ancient folklore, which is much darker https://allthatsinteresting.com/belsnickel
Belsnickel or Krampus was known to take naughty children in his sack.
"somewhat similar to Belsnickel in that he’s covered in soot and dressed in rags. Like Belsnickel, Père Fouettard is also known to whip naughty children, as well as give them lumps of coal. "
This is still practiced today in many parts of Europe, but not in the US due to WRONG association with black face. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYd1wfEKkdA (Partly Dutch, but with English subtitles)
In the Netherlands this tradition is partly "banned" because BLM protested about this, but thankfully it's still performed by advocate supporters of this old tradition.
The black face was done to mock Uncle Tom, a freedom fighter for black people (in the South) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u0wAdV4WGk
